Paper Republic – Chinese Literature in Translation

Chinese Arts and Letters

[中華人文] Chinese Arts and Letters, or CAL, is born. CAL, under the co-sponsorship of the International Cultural Exchange Association of Jiangsu Province, the Provincial Writers Association, the Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Nanjing Normal University and Jiangsu Phoenix Publishing & Media Inc., is an all-English journal committed to introducing to the western readership the outstanding achievements in Chinese arts and letters, spreading and publicizing the quintessential humanistic spirit and promoting Sino-western cultural exchanges. The inaugural issue of CAL was launched in London at the 2014 London Book Fair on April 8, 2014, and this effort has been acclaimed as an innovative move to have its first cry heard on a world stage, a voice that is meant to catch the world’s attention and call for a healthy and constructive cultural interflow between China and the west.

CAL aims to provide a more direct access to and a better showcase for contemporary Chinese cultures. To start with, it highlights the literary creation from authors originating from Jiangsu, but it will branch out to cover all parts of China to bring the best possible works of leading Chinese authors and artists to western audience. CAL will stick to the criteria of independence, quality, and inclusiveness in selecting the literary works and critical articles to be published. And to ensure the idiomaticness of the language and its acceptability by the English native readers or speakers, CAL, in principle, only invites contributors, sinologists and translators whose mother tongue is English or who have long resided overseas and engaged in bilingual professions.

Now a biannual and based in the School of Foreign Languages and Cultures of Nanjing Normal University (NNU), CAL is set to develop into a quarterly in future years and provide a more extensive coverage of China’s modern and contemporary literature. CAL will endeavor to uphold the traditions and legacies of such precursors as The China Critic and T’ien Hsia monthly from the Republic period to make Chinese literature and art an indispensable member of the international cultural community.
(Copied from http://english.jschina.com.cn/TodayJiangsu/201405/t1470168.shtml)